There's so much hype around this game, it's difficult to separate the fact from the legend. Also: It's a JRPG, so I'm not sure how much of a shit I can give. I'd have to actually play it for a bit to make a decision. Games like the Shadow Hearts and Paper Mario series, where you actually get to play a game as opposed to just somewhat rhythmically selecting options from a menu, have ruined oldschool JRPGs for me.

I really dig how it got localized because a lot of people really really wanted it to be. That's pretty awesome, and I'm tempted to support that kind of thing.

Anime is kind of like fish in that it is better the less "fishy" it is.

Xenoblade has a sort of action RPG/MMO styled combat where you move around selecting moves and your party does stuff. When you fill a special bar you can use link attacks which let you control your entire party by selecting their moves. You can control any character in your party that you want, and you can ditch the protagonist pretty early if you feel like it. Each character has a different playstyle, so you can pull off some pretty neat synergies with your party selection.

Action/RPG = awesome, MMO = I want to vomit. The whole "only control one dude in your party" thing has been kind of hit or miss for me, but I dug it in Valkyrie Profile and kinda-dug-it in Star Ocean. I also like the idea of each character having a unique "feel." Playing games is all about gameplay. Obvious statement is obvious.

I've been listening to the soundtrack for the past couple hours, and goddamn this game has gorgeous music.

Anime is kind of like fish in that it is better the less "fishy" it is.

I haven't been able to enjoy JRPGs for about 10 years now. Xenoblade changed that. That's about the strongest recommendation I can give.

The combat becomes pretty frantic after a few hours. In the first few hours where you've got a handful of abilities (or "arts" as they're called) you'll spend some time autoattacking between moves. Before long you'll be cycling through your abilities at a blinding pace, positioning yourself to trigger extra status effects and watching for openings created by the rest of your party's moves. It's quite fast paced and, at times, chaotic. In a good way.

The MMO aspect shines through in a good way. Mostly. The vast, open areas are a joy to traverse and explore and the presence of ludicrously higher level nasties (or just roaming packs of enemies) keeps you on your toes. There's also unique named creatures that often provide a decent challenge set to some kickass music. The worst MMO aspect added in are the sidequests. They can involve some nice little subplots but they almost all involve finding X many drops, killing Y monsters or finding unique item Z. I'm a little over 50 hours in now and I spent a good 15 of those sidequesting. Thankfully all the sidequests are optional and you can skip right over them without impacting the main plot in any way, though you'll miss out on a few mechanical extras and a boatload of XP and gold. Which may be a good thing, since over-levelling can make the game a bit too easy. Until you meet this bastard, at least.

It's not flawless, but it's a genuinely lovely game that's excited people for a very good reason. If that doesn't convince you then check out the opening 10 minutes. I was grinning like an idiot by the end of it.

I had heard the setting was two giant robots once locked in combat but long dormant, but I had assumed they were just floating in space, not standing in an endless ocean. I guess I assumed they were planet-sized instead of continent-sized.

Either way, definitely a unique setting. Not entirely sold on the voice acting, but I'm definitely glad none of the first three characters they focus on are annoying teenagers. Hell, all three of them have facial hair. If it weren't for the ridiculously ornate robots, I might have to question if this was actually a JRPG.

I'm sure you get eyeballs-deep in teenagers once the real protagonists take over.

Anime is kind of like fish in that it is better the less "fishy" it is.

"You haven't told me what I'm looking for.""Anything that might be of interest to Slitscan. Which is to say, anything that might be of interest to Slitscan's audience. Which is best visualized as a vicious, lazy, profoundly ignorant, perpetually hungry organism craving the warm god-flesh of the anointed. Personally I like to imagine something the size of a baby hippo, the color of a week-old boiled potato, that lives by itself, in the dark, in a double-wide on the outskirts of Topeka. It's covered with eyes and it sweats constantly. The sweat runs into those eyes and makes them sting. It has no mouth, Laney, no genitals, and can only express its mute extremes of murderous rage and infantile desire by changing the channels on a universal remote. Or by voting in presidential elections." --Colin Laney and Kathy Torrance, William Gibson's Idoru

There are a few pretty significant spoilers that even casual research into the game can have you stumble across, so I recommend steering clear of that.

As for teenagers? The main protagonist is/could qualify as one, though his voice acting steers him clear of sounding like one even if a couple of his lines don't. He has had one moment of insufferably naive moral idealism so far in my game, though most of the time he's just well intentioned and a decent chap. Beyond him there's his two best buddies, neither of whom fall into annoying teenager territory. After them you're home free.

This particular track has a way of making work days better. It also makes one of the early areas even more of a joy to explore.

I've come back to the game after a bit of a break and it's drawn me right in once again. I was pleased to see a plot thread that cropped up ~40 hours ago emerge again and get a good treatment. I also got access to the last party member who is some sort of unstoppable ass-kicking machine.